Terrorists — aka Enemy Combatants — in Guantanamo Bay Prison must be humming to the tune of Happy Days.¹ That’s because they’ve moved from an enemy combatant held under Geneva conventions up to apparently the same rights as those afforded to American citizens. No longer do they need to worry about a criminal tribunals like others who were similarly situated in former conflicts.²

But what does it really mean to kick out past precedent and start anew?
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© 2009 – 2010, Pontificus. All rights reserved.

Afghanistan, Enemy Combatant, Eric Holder, Obama, Saudi Arabia, Terrorism, Trial Hide

Super64 over Mogadishu

There are some interesting similarities between Obama’s Afghanistan and Clinton’s Somalia. Both new presidents inherited the foreign situation from their predecessor. Both have (or had) advisers who would rather pay off terrorists than fight them unless it brings political benefits.

When it came to Clinton, White House control — which inevitably meant changing missions and holding back military resources¹ — was a key contributor to the events that are well known from the book and movie Black Hawk Down.² After the events Clinton quickly turned tail and ran from Somalia.

The million vote question for Obama is, will he keep our fighting men from what they need until he has his Black Hawk Down moment, too? And if he were to do so, will he also turn tail like Clinton did?

© 2009, Pontificus. All rights reserved.

Afghanistan, Black Hawk Down, Clinton, Obama, Somalia Hide